UC-NRLF 


SB    Efll 


ID 

r- 


GIFT   OF 


i  i    iil       I  H  H          i:'l       S 


"She  sitteth  in  the  shade  and  maketh  herself  raiment." 


HENRY  ALTEMUS   COMPANY 
PHILADELPHIA 


IBLIS  IN 
PARADISE 


A  STORY  OF 
THE    TEMPTATION 

BY 

GEORGE    ROE 


Copyright,  1908 
By  HOWARD  E.  ALTEMUS 


To  the  many  friends  which 
my  translation  of  Omar  Khayyam 
has  won  for  me,  and  who,  by 
their  cordial  appreciation  of  my 
first  endeavor,  have  encouraged 
me  to  make  another  venture  in 
a  field  somewhat  similar,  the  fol- 
lowing pages  are  dedicated. 


A  -f  rt-\  7 
*i  1  tf  j.  I 


u 


"  Ere  yet  Creation's  Dawn  had  shed 

its  light 
O'er  dreary  Chaos  and  the  Realms 

of  Night, 
The  Pen  unmoved  by  good  and 

evil  wrote ; 

Nor  grief  can  change  nor  endless 
toil  rewrite/' 

Omar  Khayyam, 
Ouseley  MS.,  quatrain  31. 


1 


FOREWORD 


THE  following  story, 
though  original  in  form  and 
in  some  of  its  details,  is  for 
the  most  part  founded  upon 
well  known  Oriental  le- 
gends, the  sources  of  which 
are  widely  separated  in  point 
of  time  and  locality. 


JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIM 


3JS2L 


The  fatalistic  doctrine  of 
the  Pen  and  the  Tablet,  the 
legend  of  the  hole  in  Mount 
Kaf  through  which  the  sun 
shines  at  the  hour  of  False 
Dawn,  and  the  story  of  the 
hewing  of  the  limbs  from 
the  serpent,  are  daily  be- 
coming familiar  to  the 
Western  world;  the  account 
of  the  expulsion  of  Iblis 
from  Heaven  is  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the 


OIIIQIIIO 


gur'an;  the  version  of  the 
creation  of  Adam  and  Eve 
is  founded  upon  a  very  an- 
cient Hindu  legend,  and 
the  cause  of  their  expulsion 
from  the  Garden  is  common 
to  the  Book  of  Genesis  and 
the  gur'an. 

GEORGE  ROE 

SAN  ANTONIO,  TEXAS 


w 

I 


I 


IBLIS  IN  PARADISE 


A   STORY  OF  THE  TEMP- 
TATION 

Now,  long  before  the 
birth  of  Time,  when  the 
Universe  was  enveloped  in 
the  mists  of  Azal,  the  Pen 
wrote  upon  the  Tablet  of 
Fate  all  those  things  which, 


through  the  countless  ages 
of  eternity,  should  surely 
come  to  pass. 

And  when  the  Pen  had 
made  an  end  of  writing, 
Khuda  turned  His  face 
upon  the  realms  of  Night 
and  Chaos,  and  the  light 
shone  upon  the  darkness. 
And  Khuda  separated  the 
light  from  the  darkness, 
and  called  the  light  Day, 
and  the  darkness  He  called 


OiOIIIO 


Night.  And  when  He  had 
gathered  the  light  from  the 
darkness,  Time  was  born; 
and  the  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  first  day. 
Then  Khuda  gathered 
together  the  waters,  and  the 
dry  land  appeared.  And  He 
looked  upon  the  land  and 
the  seas  and  the  rivers,  and 
saw  that  they  were  fair, 
and  He  called  them  Earth, 
and  all  around  them  He 


raised  up  the  mighty  walls 
of  Mount  Kaf,  whose  snow- 
capped pinnacles  touched 
the  heavens,  so  that  no  man 
may  pass  beyond  them. 

And  when  He  had  fin- 
ished making  the  earth,  He 
set  the  sky  in  the  vault  of 
Heaven,  and  yoked  the 
fiery  horses  of  the  sun,  and 
called  the  sun  Khurshyd, 
and  bade  him  mount  his 
chariot  of  fire,  and  ap- 


pointed  him  Lord  of  the 
Day.  And  He  set  Zuhal 
and  Mushtari  and  Parwin, 
and  all  the  shining  hosts  of 
the  stars  in  the  firmament, 
and  bade  them  rule  the 
Night. 

Then  He  turned  to  the 
moon  and  said,  "  Thy  name 
shall  be  Mah,  for  thou  shalt 
be  the  Measurer,  and  thou 
shalt  pass  from  the  Night 
into  the  Day ,  and  back  again 


from  the  Day  shalt  pass  into 
the  Night;  and  thou  shalt 
keep  a  record  of  the  months, 
and  the  seasons,  until  the 
Day  of  Shamar,  when  the 
sky  shall  be  rent  asunder 
and  the  sun  shall  be  dark- 
ened." 

Now  when  Khuda  had 
finished  making  the  heav- 
ens, He  looked  again  upon 
the  earth,  and  saw  that  it 
was  naked;  therefore,  He 


omoiiic 


clothed  it  with  verdure  and 
with  trees  and  with  flowers. 
And  when  the  trees  spread 
out  their  leaves  and  drank 
the  dews  of  Heaven,  prais- 
ing the  Lord  silently,  and 
the  grasses  raised  their  heads 
in  joy,  and  the  winds  car- 
ried the  odors  of  the  flowers 
to  Heaven,  Khuda  looked 
upon  His  work,  and  saw 
that  it  was  good. 

But,  after  a  little  while, 


when  the  seeds  fell  and  the 
young  trees  grew  up,  be- 
hold the  parent  trees  still 
spread  out  their  leaves  and 
drank  in  the  sunlight  and 
the  pearly  drops  of  dew, 
robbing  their  own  young; 
and  they  set  their  roots  more 
firmly  in  the  ground  that 
they  might  eat  of  the  food 
of  the  earth,  depriving  their 
own  offspring. 

But  Khuda  beheld  them, 


and  said,  "Lo,  these  be 
greedy  creatures  that  I  have 
put  upon  the  earth!  All 
that  I  have  given  them  they 
would  seize  to  satisfy  their 
selfish  hunger,  nor  will  they 
share  even  with  the  children 
that  spring  from  themselves. 
Now,  therefore,  shall  I  place 
upon  the  earth  nobler  crea- 
tures, who  shall  guard  and 
protect  their  young,  and 
love  and  care  for  the  off- 


JUUUUUUUUJJUUUUU1JJM 


spring  whom  I  shall  give  to 
them." 

Thus  did  He  speak,  and 
at  His  Word  were  born  the 
fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the 
creeping  things  of  the  earth, 
and  the  birds  of  the  air,  and 
the  beasts  of  the  field.  And 
they  brought  forth  their 
young,  and  loved  them  and 
cherished  them,  even  as 
Khuda  had  spoken.  So 
Khuda  looked  upon  the 


work  that  He  had  done,  and 
saw  that  it  was  good. 

But  in  a  little  while,  when 
again  He  looked  upon  the 
earth,  He  saw  that  the  crea- 
tures to  whom  He  had  given 
it  did  but  eat  and  drink,  gi 
and  bring  forth  their  young, 
and  die.  Never  did  they 
raise  their  eyes  to  the  vault 
of  Heaven,  seeking  to  read 
the  mystery  of  the  stars ;  nor 
did  they  strive  to  know 


aught  of  the  secrets  of  the 
earth,  but  followed  foolish- 
ly the  thing  that  was  before 
their  eyes. 

Then  He  took  counsel 
with  His  heart  and  said, 
"I  will  now  make  a  being 
in  my  own  image,  and  he 
shall  have  dominion  over 
the  earth,  and  he  shall  be 
lord  over  the  beasts  of  the 
field;  and  the  seas  and  the 
rivers  shall  be  his  servants; 


u 


'Q///Q//A 


yea,  the  very  earth,  herself, 
shall  be  his  handmaiden, 
and  shall  bring  forth  new 
fruits  and  strange  flowers 
and  abundant  harvests  un- 
der the  cunning  of  his  hand. 
And  he  shall  excel  in  wis- 
dom, and  shall  read  that 
which  he  seeth  not,  by  the 
light  of  that  which  his  eyes 
have  seen.  And  I  will  give 
him  power,  so  that  when  he 
shall  have  placed  two  things 


1JUUUUUUUUUM 


together,  behold  a  third 
thing  shall  be  clear  before 
him." 

Then  Khuda  called  to 
the  angels  Gabriel  and 
Michael  and  Israfil  and 
Azrail,  saying, "  Go  ye  forth 
to  the  earth,  and  bring 
hither  seven  kinds  of  the 
dust  thereof  and  lay  it  be- 
fore me." 

And  when  the  angels  re- 
turned with  the  dust  of 


Soars 


earth,  as  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded, He  looked  upon  it 
and  saw  that  it  contained 
as  many  colors  as  there  are 
now  races  among  mankind. 
Then  He  took  of  that 
which  Azrail  had  brought, 
and  in  the  hollow  of  His 
hand  He  took  of  the  waters 
of  Kusar  to  moisten  it 
therewith;  and  thus  did  He 
speak :  "  From  the  earth  and 
the  sky  will  I  take  senses 


and  powers  like  unto  my 
own,  and  breathe  them  into 
this  clay,  and  it  shall  live." 
Then  he  took  Prudence, 
and  Reason,  and  Fore- 
thought, Passion  that  leaps 
and  consumes  like  a  flame, 
and  Will  that  can  quench 
passion  as  water  quenches 
fire,  and  these  He  breathed 
into  the  lifeless  clay,  and  lo, 
a  living  man  stood  before 
Him. 


I 


1 


^TP^W^^T/T^y// <>///<> //A 


^y       And  He  called  the  man 
Jj|>  Adam,  and  made  him  lord 
over  the  earth,  even  as  He 
s»    had  spoken. 
||        Then  he  placed  Adam  in 
a   beautiful   garden   where 
trees  were  watered  by  sweet 
streams,  and  the  garden  was 
filled  with  the  fragrance  of 
the  flowers,  and  the  music 
of  the  bulbuls  rang  out  from 
the  shady  groves. 

But     Adam     wandered 


alone  in  the  garden,  and  the 
beasts  over  whom  he  was 
lord  understood  him  not, 
and  the  beautiful  flowers 
were  silent,  and  the  notes  of 
the  bulbul  only  made  heavy 
his  heart.  So  Khuda  saw 
his  loneliness,  and  knew  that 
he  needed  a  companion  to 
be  with  him  in  the  garden. 
Therefore,  Khuda  cast 
Adam  into  a  deep  sleep, 
and,  while  he  was  yet  sleep- 


SEB3F 


ing,  took  from  his  left  side 
a  rib,  and  considered  how 
He  should  breathe  life  into 
it  in  order  that  He  might 
give  it  a  separate  soul  and 
a  new  form  that  should  be 
the  same  and  yet  not  the 
same.  But  when  Khuda 
had  looked  again  for  the 
attributes  which  He  had 
used  in  the  creation  of 
Adam,  behold  He  found 
that  they  were  well-nigh 


exhausted  in  giving  life  to 
the  man  whom  He  had  said 
should  be  lord  over  all  the 
earth.  So  he  took,  in  their 
stead,  the  gentle  beauty  of 
a  calm  sky,  and  the  rest- 
lessness of  the  sea;  and  the 
pink  blush  of  the  budding 
rose,  and  the  whiteness  of 
the  lily;  and  the  straight- 
ness  of  an  arrow,  and  the 
subtlety  of  a  serpent;  and 
the  softness  of  the  swan's 


SL 


breast,  and  the  hardness  of 
porphyry;  and  the  gentle- 
ness of  the  dove,  and  the 
fierceness  of  the  tiger ;  and 
the  heat  of  fire,  and  the 
cold  of  snow;  and  He 
breathed  them  into  the  rib, 
and  lo,  a  living  woman 
stood  before  Him. 

Then  Khuda  called 
Adam  and  said,  "  O  Adam, 
I  saw  that  thou  wert  indeed 
lonely,  therefore  have  I 


made  this  woman  to  be  a 
companion  for  thee;  take 
her  now  with  thee  into  the 
garden,  and  rejoice." 

And  Adam  answered  the 
Lord,  saying,  "O  Khuda, 
Thou  art  indeed  thrice 
blessed:  first  for  Thy  knowl- 
edge, which  knew  the  wants 
of  my  heart  ere  I,  myself, 
could  understand  them; 
and  again,  because  of  Thy 
power,  which  can  make  a 


2HJUJJJUUUUUUUIJJUUUU 


gjiiSIR 


creature  more  graceful  than 
the  cypress,  whose  eyes  are 
brighter  than  stars  in  the 
midnight  sky,  and  whose 
smile  is  like  the  budding  of 
a  new-born  rose;  and  yet 
again  art  Thou  blessed  for 
the  great  love  that  could 
yield  to  me  a  creature  fairer 
than  my  soul  ever  yet  im- 
agined, even  in  the  witchery 
of  dreams. " 

And  Khuda  said,  "Take 


I 


her,  and  give  her  all  that 
I  have  made  for  thee  in  the 
garden,  for  all  is  thine;  but 
of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge  ye  shall  not  eat, 
for  that  fruit  is  forbidden 
unto  you." 

Then  Adam  took  the 
woman  by  the  hand  and  led 
her  into  the  garden. 

Now  when  Khuda  had 
thus  crowned  the  work  of 
creation,  He  called  all  the 


1 


angels  together  and  said 
unto  them,  "Behold  now  I 
have  made  man  in  my  own 
image,  and  with  attributes 
like  unto  mine  own;  there- 
fore, inasmuch  as  he  is  like 
unto  me,  ye  shall  bow  down 
before  him." 

Then  Michael  and  Ga- 
briel and  Israfil  bowed  down 
before  Adam,  for  they  knew 
that  he  was  made  in  the 
image  of  the  Lord;  and 


» 


\a 
i 

I 
1 


Azrail  also  bowed,  for  he 
heard  the  voice  of  Khuda 
and  knew  not  that  the  Pen 
had  already  written  that 
he  should  cut  the  slender 
thread  on  which  hangs  the 
frail  and  fevered  life  of  man. 
And  all  the  mighty  hosts 
of  Heaven  looked  upon 
Adam,  and  they  bowed 
down  before  him,  all  save 
Iblis  and  those  who  were 
with  him.  But  Iblis  raised 


OOIK 


his  head  in  anger,  and  his 
brow  darkened  with  pride, 
and  his  eyes  shone  with  the 
red  coals  of  his  rebellious 
heart,  and  he  answered  the 
Lord: 

"  O  Khuda,  what  is  man 
that  we  should  bow  down 
before  him  ?  Hast  not  Thou 
created  us  of  living  fire,  and 
man  of  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
and  shall  we  indeed  bow 
down  to  him  ?  Nay,  Lord, 


know  Thou  that  I,  who  am 
an  angel  of  light,  will  never 
bow  myself  down  before  this 
breathing  image  of  clay!'1 

And  Khuda  answered 
Iblis, "  Get  thee  hence,  thou 
rebellious  one,  or  thou  shalt 
be  driven  forth  with  stones 
of  fire,  for  upon  thy  head 
shall  rest  a  curse  until  the 
day  of  judgment." 

But  Iblis  besought  Khu- 
da, saying,  "Give  me  a 


GiO 


"Then  Iblis  and  those  who  were  with  him  fled." 


1 


respite  until  the  day  of 
judgment." 

And  Khuda  answered 
him,  saying,  "Verily,  thou 
shalt  be  of  those  whom  I 
shall  respite  until  the  day 
of  the  time  that  I  have  ap- 
pointed." 

Now  when  Iblis  knew 
that  Khuda  had  respited 
him  by  the  Word  of  the 
Lord  that  cannot  be  broken, 
his  anger  burst  out  anew 


B 


and  venom  gushed  from  his 
lips.  "Because,"  he  said, 
"Thou  hast  seduced  me  to 
disobedience  with  a  com- 
mand that  Thou  knewest  I 
would  not  obey,  therefore 
shall  I  seduce  to  disobedi- 
ence the  man  whom  Thou 
hast  created.  And  I  shall 
await  the  coming  of  men 
yet  unborn,  and  shall  com- 
pass them  about  from  the 
right  hand  to  the  left ;  and 


both  in  their  sight  and  when 
they  see  me  not,  shall  I 
seek  to  tempt  them  unto 
evil;  and  I  will  make  them 
to  set  Thy  command  at 
naught,  in  order  that  I  may 
destroy  their  souls." 

Then  Iblis  and  those  who 
were  with  him  fled  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

But  when  Iblis  sought  to 
enter  the  garden,  he  could 
not  find  the  right  path,  for 


whichever  way  he  turned 
his  steps,  the  topless  walls 
of  Mount  Kaf  towered 
above  him.  Then  he  cried 
out  to  the  mountains,  but 
they  looked  down  upon  him 
in  silence;  and  he  besought 
the  trees  to  tell  him  the  way, 
but  they  answered  him  not; 
and  he  besought  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  but  they  would 
not  hear  him,  for  the  great 
mountains  stood  between. 


I 


I 

AH 


^///°///Q///Q///»//A 


At  length,  however,  it 
came  to  pass  that,  as  he  cried 
out  in  anger  and  despair,  he 
came  to  that  hole  in  the 
mountain  through  which 
the  sun  shineth  at  the  hour 
of  Subhi  Kazim,  or  False 
Dawn,  even  unto  this  day. 
And  as  he  was  about  to  pass 
by,  it  chanced  that  the  ser- 
pent lay  sleeping  in  the 
shadow  and  was  awakened 
by  his  voice. 


And  the  serpent  an- 
swered the  voice,  saying, 
"  If  I  shall  guide  thee  to  the 
place  where  thou  shalt  find 
the  man  and  the  woman, 
what  wilt  thou  give  me?" 

And  Iblis  said,  "I  will 
give  thee  wisdom  greater 
than  all  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  and  I  will  place  a 
dagger  in  thy  mouth  so  that 
when  thou  strikest  thine 
enemy  he  shall  surely  die." 


He  came  to  the  passage  in  the  mountain.' 


So  the  serpent  hearkened 
unto  the  voice  of  the  evil 
one  and  led  him  through 
the  passage  in  the  side  of 
the  mountain,  to  the  place 
where  Adam  lay  sleeping, 
with  the  head  of  his  wife, 
Eve,  resting  upon  his  shoul- 
der. Then  Iblis  looked 
upon  the  pair,  and  for  a 
moment  his  heart  smote 
him,  but  when  he  remem- 
bered all  the  loss  he  had  suf- 


fered  because  of  them,  he 
hardened  his  heart,  and 
showed  himself  to  the  wom- 
an in  a  dream. 

And  it  befel  that  while 
Eve  yet  slept  upon  the  bosom 
of  her  husband,  she  saw  as 
in  a  vision  a  stranger  of 
noble  presence  standing 
beside  her.  His  form  was 
tall  and  strong,  and  when 
he  moved,  his  mien  was 
exceeding  graceful;  ring- 


lets  of  the  night  fell  from 
a  brow  that  was  like  the 
morning,  and  in  his  burning 
eyes  the  woman  saw  the 
darkling  glow  of  a  deep 
fire,  the  meaning  whereof 
she  knew  not. 

Now  when  Eve  remem- 
bered the  clear  glance  of 
her  husband,  wherein  was  no 
guile  nor  yet  knowledge, 
and  when  she  thought  how 
easily  she  could  read  it,  she 


longed  the  more  to  know 
what  thoughts  lay  hidden  in 
the  dark  gaze  of  the  beau- 
tiful stranger.  And  Iblis 
smiled,  for  he  saw  all  her 
desires  as  if  they  were  in- 
scriptions of  gold  on  tablets 
of  alabaster,  and  his  smile 
was  sweet  and  winsome; 
and  the  mystery  of  his  gaze 
held  the  eyes  of  the  woman 
bound  upon  his  own. 
Then  did  the  evil  one 


SB 

KX>» 

SLWiiy.jSE 


gone 


open  his  mouth,  and  he 
spake  in  words  that  sounded 
soft  as  the  song  of  the  west 
wind  among  the  tree  tops 
at  evening,  and  clear  as  the 
voice  of  the  stream  rippling 
through  the  garden,  and 
these  were  the  words  that 
he  spake: 

"  O  fairest  of  all  that  the 
Lord  God  has  made,  behold 
the  music  of  thy  beauty  has 
ascended  to  the  heights  of 


Heaven  itself,  and  from 
Heaven  I  have  come  to  look 
upon  thee.  Much  have  I 
heard  said  of  thee,  and  much 
have  I  dreamed,  but  of  a 
surety  not  a  tithe  of  the 
marvel  of  thy  loveliness  was 
ever  told  to  me  by  word  or 
vision,  nor  could  I,  now, 
seeing  thee,  paint  for  an- 
other a  faithful  picture  of 
the  beauty  that  mine  eyes 
at  last  behold." 


I 


I 


^7?/v///°///*///Q///»//A 


He  was  silent,  as  if  to 
let  his  gaze  make  his  heart 
drunken  with  the  sight  of 
her,  and  then,  seeing  the 
rosy  blush  of  pleasure  bud- 
ding and  blooming  the 
cheek  of  the  first  woman, 
spake  again: 

"But  in  Heaven  they 
say  that  one  thing  dost  thou 
need  to  make  thy  beauty 
perfect.  Though  the  light 
of  love  shineth  in  thine 


eyes,  the  light  of  knowledge 
is  not  there,  and  it  is  told 
by  the  angels  that  thou  hast 
been  forbidden  to  eat  of  the 
fruit  which  bringeth  knowl- 
edge to  all  who  taste.  And 
so,  O  thou  fairest  one,  I  be- 
seech thee,  touch  it  not,  for 
didst  thou  but  taste  of  that 
fruit,  thy  beauty  must  sure- 
ly unleash  the  hounds  of 
strife  within  the  very  gate 
of  Heaven." 


rauuxuuuuuuuuuuu. 


Thus  spake  the  evil  one, 
and  with  such  honeyed 
words  he  withdrew  to  wait 
the  harvest  of  that  his 
tongue  had  sown. 

Now  when,  at  dawn's 
first  smile,  our  mother  Eve 
awoke,  she  turned  her  gaze 
upon  the  man  who  still  be- 
side her  lay  sleeping  and, 
though  she  loved  him  much, 
her  thoughts  returned  to 
dwell  unbidden  on  the 


f 


stranger  of  her  dreams,  and 
when  at  last  the  fingers  of 
sleep  had  been  lifted  from 
her  husband's  eyes  and  she, 
smiling,  greeted  him  with 
words  of  love,  even  still  her 
thoughts  were  all  upon  the 
vanished  vision  of  the  night. 
But  Adam,  knowing 
naught  of  this,  arose  and 
bathed  his  limbs  in  the  cool 
water  of  the  stream  that 
rippled,  singing,  past  his 


I 


leafy  couch.  Then  he  rose 
from  the  crystal  waters  and, 
with  the  flush  of  strength 
upon  his  cheeks,  set  out  to 
gather  fruit  for  the  morning 
meal,  that  Eve  might  break 
her  fast. 

But  when  he  returned, 
his  arms  laden  with  the 
sweetest  fruits  of  the  gar- 
den, the  woman  was  think- 
ing of  the  forbidden  tree,  and 
wishing  that  in  her  eyes  the 


Tfff  TO 


light  of  knowledge  might 
shine  beside  the  light  of 
love ;  so  the  fruit  that  Adam 
brought  seemed  to  her  taste- 
less, and  the  perfume  of  the 
morning  flowers  bore  her 
no  joy.  Yet  she  spoke  not 
to  her  husband  of  the  for- 
bidden tree,  and  tried,  with 
light  words  of  other  things, 
to  drive  away  the  memory 
of  the  words  that  Iblis  had 
Uttered  in  her  dream. 


;  3 


3 


Now  after  a  few  days,  it 
came  to  pass  that  Adam 
sought  out  Khuda  in  the 
cool  of  the  morning,  and 
thus  did  he  speak: 

"O  Khuda,  Thou  art 
indeed  almighty,  all-wise 
and  all-bountiful,  and  Thou 
wilt  hear  the  prayer  of  Thy 
servant  who  stands  before 
Thee.  For  lo,  the  woman 
whom  Thou  gavest  me,  her 
eyes  were  brighter  than  the 


stars  and  her  voice  was  softer 
than  the  cooing  of  the 
wood-pigeon,  but  alas  when 
I  desire  to  think  in  silence, 
naught  will  stay  the  music 
of  her  tongue,  and  when  I 
bring  the  fairest  flowers  and 
sweetest  fruits  of  the  garden 
as  a  love  offering,  behold 
they  are  others  than  she 
would  have  chosen,  and  I 
know  not  how  to  please  her. 
Now,  therefore,  I  pray  Thee 


I 


1 


arrrr\ 


take  her  from  me  that  my 
soul  may  have  peace." 

So  Khuda  did  as  Adam 
desired  and  the  man  was 
left  alone  in  the  garden. 

But  ere  many  days,  Adam 
again  sought  out  Khuda 
and  said: 

"O  Thou  Mighty  One, 
have  patience  with  thy 
servant,  for  great  is  his  woe ; 
for  behold,  when  I  came  to 
Thee  and  besought  Thee  to 


take  away  the  woman,  Thou 
didst  grant  my  request,  and 
I  was  exceeding  glad  and 
for  a  few  hours  I  rejoiced 
to  sit  in  peace.  But  after 
a  little  while,  when  I  had 
wrested  a  secret  from  the 
stars,  I  turned  and  found 
none  to  whom  I  might 
speak  of  my  victory.  And 
at  night,  when  I  lay  down 
in  my  loneliness,  I  stretched 
out  my  hand  but,  instead  of 


mJUUUUUUUUUJUUJUU 


the  soft  nest  of  a  warm  bo- 
som, naught  felt  I  save  the 
hardness  of  the  cold  ground. 
Now,  therefore,  I  pray 
Thee,  return  to  me  the 
woman  whom  Thou  hast 
taken,  for  this  my  loneli- 
ness is  greater  than  I  can 
bear." 

And  again  Khuda  heark- 
ened unto  the  voice  of  the 
man  and  the  woman  re- 
turned to  the  garden. 


Now  it  came  to  pass  that 
after  this,  as  Khuda  was 
walking  in  the  shade  of  the 
trees,  He  saw  Adam  sitting 
alone  upon  the  bank  of  a 
stream  with  his  head  bent 
upon  his  hands  like  one  in 
great  tribulation;  therefore, 
He  called  to  him,  saying: 

"  O  Adam,  why  grievest 
thou?  Tell  me  of  thy  trou- 
bles, that  I  may  help  thee." 
So  Adam  raised  his  head, 


( 


"He  saw  Adam  sitting  alone  on  the  bank." 


fljjjU  but  no  hope  shone  in  his 
JJI^  eyes  while  he  answered: 

"O  Khuda,  even  though 
Thou  art  almighty,  I  wist 
not  how  even  Thou  canst 
succor  me,  for  behold,  the 
woman  whom  Thou  gavest 
me  I  cannot  live  with  her, 
and  without  her  I  cannot 
live." 

And  Khuda  said  unto 
Adam :  "  Where  is  now  the 
woman?"  And  Adam  re- 


plied:  "She  sitteth  in  the 
shade  and  maketh  herself 
raiment  of  the  leaves  of  the 
trees." 

But  Khuda  asked  of 
Adam:  "Where,  then,  is 
the  raiment  of  innocence 
which  I  gave  ye,  and  why 
do  ye  need  to  make  for 
yourselves  robes  of  the 
leaves  of  the  trees?" 

But  the  man  hung  his 
head  and  answered  nothing, 


qiiowc 


for  he  had  eaten  of  the  tree 
of  knowledge  and,  when  he 
had  tasted  its  fruit,  behold 
the  robe  of  innocence  had 
fallen  away  from  him  and 
he  knew  that  he  was  naked. 

Then  Khuda  charged 
Adam  saying:  "Did  I  not 
forbid  thee  to  eat  of  the 
fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge? Why,  then,  hast 
thou  disobeyed  me?" 

And  Adam  lifted  up  his 


voice,  though  his  head  was 
still  bent  in  shame,  and  an- 
swered Khuda,  saying: 

"O  Thou  who  art  all- 
merciful,  Thou  canst  read 
my  heart  and  Thou  know- 
est  its  weaknesses.  Behold, 
when  Thou  didst  return  to 
me  the  woman,  my  heart 
yearned  for  her,  and  my 
hand  was  ready  to  do  her 
bidding.  But  when  she  be- 
sought me  that  I  might 


bring  her  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  I  denied 
her,  for  I  remembered  that 
Thou  hadst  forbidden  us  to 
eat  thereof.  But  the  woman 
still  besought  me  that  Thou 
hadst  not  forbidden  us  to 
pluck  the  fruit,  only  hadst 
Thou  forbidden  us  to  taste 
of  it.  Therefore,  to  satisfy 
her,  did  I  bring  a  single 
fruit  from  the  tree  and 
placed  it  in  her  hand.  And 


she  toyed  with  the  fruit, 
yet  tasted  not,  for  she, 
too,  remembered  Thy  com- 
mand. But  suddenly,  I 
know  not  why,  she  raised 
it  to  her  lips  and  ere  I  could 
stay  her  hand,  she  had  eaten 
thereof.  And  it  came  to 
pass  that  when,  in  fear 
thereat,  I  turned  my  face 
to  hers,  I  saw  a  new  light 
shining  in  her  eyes,  for  be- 
hold the  light  of  knowledge 


2£OZZ£ 


sate  beside  the  light  of  love 
upon  the  throne  of  her  heart. 
Then  I  stretched  out  my 
hand  and  drew  her  toward 
me  and  I  drank  from  her 
eyes  the  drugged  draught 
of  her  new  beauty;  but 
while  I  held  her  to  my 
bosom,  and  her  smiling  lips 
showed  the  pearly  whiteness 
of  her  teeth  she  put  the  fruit 
unto  my  mouth,  and  I  ate 
from  the  spot  that  her  lips 


had  touched.  Yea,  O  Khu- 
da,  had  it  been  the  cup  of 
death,  I  would  have  drained 
it." 

Then  said  Khuda  unto 
the  man:  "When  thou 
didst  eat  of  the  fruit,  ver- 
ily thou  didst  also  drink  of 
the  cup  of  death !  O  Adam, 
did  I  not  give  thee  Will, 
that  thou  mightest  overcome 
Desire?"  And  the  man 
replied,  "Yea,  Khuda,  but 


I 


1 


I 


didst  not  Thou  also  give  the 
woman  Beauty,  that  she 
might  overcome  Will?" 

Then  Khuda  turned  from 
Adam  and  called  Michael 
to  Him,  and  bade  the  angel 
take  his  sword  in  his  hand 
and  hew  the  limbs  from 
off  the  body  of  the  serpent, 
because  the  serpent  had 
aided  Iblis  in  the  evil  that 
he  had  wrought.  And  thus, 
unto  this  day,  despite  all 


the  wisdom  that  Iblis  had 
given  him,  the  serpent 
crawls  upon  his  belly  in  the 
dust,  for  he  hath  no  limbs 
to  sustain  him. 

And  Khuda  turned  again 
to  Adam  and  said,  "  Adam, 
I  have  made  thee  lord  over 
all  the  earth,  and  endowed 
thee  more  than  any  living 
thing;  I  have  placed  upon 
thee  but  one  command,  and 
that  thou  hast  broken;  I 


QiOIC 


gave  thee  this  garden  that 
thou  mightest  live  here  in 
joy  and  peace  and  naught 
hadst  thou  to  do  but  stretch 
out  thy  hand  and  pluck  the 
fruits  that  my  bounty  had 
given  thee,  but  still  thou 
wert  not  contented.  I  gave 
thee  also  the  fairest  of  all 
creatures  upon  earth  to  be 
thy  companion,  but  thou 
wert  not  happy;  therefore 
will  I  now  cast  thee  forth 


from  the  garden,  and  I  will 
put  -angels  with  flaming 
swords  in  the  way,  and  thou 
shalt  never  return.  And 
no  longer  shalt  thou  put 
forth  thy  hand  to  receive 
without  toil  thy  daily  bread; 
but  thou  shalt  labor  for  thine 
own  living,  and  for  thy  wife 
and  for  the  children  that 
shall  be  born  to  thee,  and 
only  in  thy  labor  shalt  thou 
find  thy  happiness." 


i 


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